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Topic: papa del's recipe on this site (Read 15043 times)

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for anyone that's made the papa del's deep dish on this site--did you use all of the dough in a single pizza? i'm thinking of making this for friday, though 4 cups of flour seems like a lot of dough for a 10" pan. i'm kinda hoping i'm supposed to use it all, so i have this super thick uber pizza to eat, though not if it will make it cook all funky.-scott

for anyone that's made the papa del's deep dish on this site--did you use all of the dough in a single pizza? i'm thinking of making this for friday, though 4 cups of flour seems like a lot of dough for a 10" pan. i'm kinda hoping i'm supposed to use it all, so i have this super thick uber pizza to eat, though not if it will make it cook all funky.-scott

I used the entire batch of dough for one pizza... turned out nice and thick, just like Papa Del's!

Aibreanowl

Yes, I used all of the dough in one pizza. Yes, it is INCREDIBLY thick. It was tasty, but not my favourite. Turns out my favourite is the thin and crispy....so it's a poor choice for what I was looking for.

Abby

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Darlene

My husband and I both worked at Papa Del's during our college years and I can give you a llittle help in making the recipe more authentic. Pop's (Robert Monte-the owner) never would devulge the exact crust formula but I do know it also had olive oil in it.

Also after the sauce you sprinkke whole thing with fresh ground romano cheese anbd then sprinkle with dried oregano.

Also the inside cheese was a blend of Mozerella and monteray jack I believe He shreds his own cheese to make the blend. For the stuffed pizza a small amount of sharp cheddar is added .

I found this posting in the Usenet archives (circa 1992). How does it compare to what you remember?

The best deep dish pizza isn't from Chicago. It comes from a place called Papa Del's in Champaign-Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. Skeptics might check rec.food.cooking and note that several people are asking for Del's recipe this very week.

They're out of luck. Papa Del's keeps it's recipe a tightly guarded secret. You few, you hungry few, you band of eaters (whoops, wrong thread) are lucky to have me around, for I am about to spill the sausage.

Don't ask me how I got this. It is a sordid tale and all I will say is that I had nothing to do with the sexual favors involved.

I regret that I do not have specific measures for the spices or the instructions for the homemade sausage but apparently there are things that even sex won't buy.

Chop up the tomatoes, mix with the tomato paste, and place in a large covered pot (it likes to splatter) on low heat. Add salt and spices - the more spices, the better! - until it tastes right. Continue cooking and stiring till the dough is done. (You might consider adding chopped onion, green pepper and pre-cooked hot italian sausage to the sauce, although Del's doesn't do this.)

STEP 3 - Toppings

Ingredients

2 to 2 1/2 lbs of Mozzarella cheese

Any or all of the following: sausage (pre-cooked) pepperoni onions green peppers olives mushrooms bacon

You know what you like on your pizza - prepare them while the sauce is cooking. Precooking the sausage is recommended.

Step 4 - Assembling and Cooking the Pizza

When the dough is ready lightly flour it and roll it slightly larger than the pan to be used (a 12 inch cast iron skillet is recommended, although you could use a 9x13 inch pan or something similar). Oil the pan well. Put the dough over the top of the pan and slide it down so that it fits the pan. Make sure there is at least a 1" lip.

Spread the Mozzarella cheese in the bottom of the pizza so that no dough is showing through.

My husband and I both worked at Papa Del's during our college years and I can give you a llittle help in making the recipe more authentic. Pop's (Robert Monte-the owner) never would devulge the exact crust formula but I do know it also had olive oil in it.

Also after the sauce you sprinkke whole thing with fresh ground romano cheese anbd then sprinkle with dried oregano.

Also the inside cheese was a blend of Mozerella and monteray jack I believe He shreds his own cheese to make the blend. For the stuffed pizza a small amount of sharp cheddar is added .

Hope you try and enjoy of few of these tips.

I worked there too in '85 and '86, and the cheese was ONLY mozzarella, although it was a 50/50 blend of Whole milk, and part-skim mozzarella. I remember we had to unload the truck when it came in from Chicago, and I would use the dough mixer with the meat grinder attachment to grind the cheeses. I think that consistency from grinding it in the meat grinder adds something to the end result.

I'll be passing through Champaign in about three weeks on my way out to Wisconsin. And, yes, I'll be stopping at Papa Dels for dinner! The last time I was there they said that they would give me a tour of the kitchen but then quickly reneg'd on the offer. I'll ask again this time!